Wilderness Inventory Unit Index of Documents
McCarthy Ridge OR-034-102, 10 total pages
Page 1: Index Cover Sheet
Page 2: Form 1 – Documentation of BLM Wilderness Inventory: Findings on Record
Page 5: Form 2 – Documentation of Current Wilderness Inventory Conditions
Page 8: Form 2 – Summary of Findings and Conclusion
Page 9: Wilderness Characteristics Overview – McCarthy Ridge OR-034-102 Map 1 of 2
Page 10: Wilderness Characteristics-Land Treatments-McCarthy Ridge OR-034-102 Map 2 of 2
Prepared by:
U.S. Department of the Interior
Bureau of Land Management
Vale District Office
100 Oregon Street
Vale, Oregon 97918
Wilderness Inventory Unit
McCarthy Ridge OR-034-102
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Form 1 – Documentation of BLM Wilderness Inventory: Findings on Record
1 of 3
H-6300-1-WILDERNESS INVENTORY MAINTENANCE
IN BLM OREGON/WASHINGTON
APPENDIX B – INVENTORY AREA EVALUATION
Evaluation of Current Conditions:
1) Document and review the existing BLM wilderness inventory findings on file, if
available, regarding the presence or absence of individual wilderness characteristics, using
Form 1, below.
2) Consider relevant information regarding current conditions available in the office to
identify and describe any changes to the existing information (use interdisciplinary (ID) team
knowledge, aerial photographs, field observations, maps, etc.), and document your findings
on Form 2, below.
When Citizen Information has been submitted regarding wilderness characteristics, document
the submitted materials including: date of Submission; Name of District(s) and Field
Office(s) Affected; Type of material Submitted (e.g. narrative, map, photo). Evaluate any
submitted citizen information regarding the validity of proposed boundaries of the unit(s), the
existence of roads and other boundary features, the size of the unit(s), and the presence or
absence of wilderness characteristics based on relevant information available in the office
(prior BLM inventories, ID team knowledge, aerial photographs, field observations, maps,
etc.)
Conduct field reviews as necessary to verify information and to ascertain current conditions.
Reach conclusions on current conditions including boundaries, size of areas and presence or
absence of wilderness characteristics. Fully explain the basis for each conclusion on form 2,
including any critical differences between BLM and citizen information.
Document your findings regarding current conditions for each inventoried area. Describe
how the present conditions are similar to, or have changed from, the conditions documented
in the original wilderness inventory. Document your findings on Form 2 for each inventory
area. Cite to or attach data considered, including photographs, maps, GIS layers, field trip
notes, project files, etc.
Wilderness Inventory Unit
McCarthy Ridge OR-034-102
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Form 1 – Documentation of BLM Wilderness Inventory: Findings on Record
Year:
_2010_
Unit Number/Name:
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OR-034-102 — McCarthy Ridge______
FORM 1 -- DOCUMENTATION OF BLM WILDERNESS INVENTORY
FINDINGS ON RECORD
1. Is there existing BLM wilderness inventory information on all or part of this area?
Yes
__X__ No
____
(If yes, and if more than one unit is within the area, list
the names of those units.):
A.) Inventory Source(s) -- (X) Denotes all applicable BLM Inventory files, printed
maps, or published BLM Decision documents with information pertaining to this unit.
Wilderness Inventories
(X) 1978 – BLM Wilderness Inventory Unit OR-03-01-15 Beirman Springs
(unpublished BLM document in case files)
( ) April 1979 – Wilderness -- Proposed Initial Inventory – Roadless Areas
and Islands Which Clearly Do Not have Wilderness Characteristics,
Oregon and Washington
Wilderness Decision Documents
( ) August 1979 – Wilderness Review – Initial Inventory, Final Decision on
Public Lands Obviously Lacking Wilderness Characteristics and
Announcement of Public Lands to be Intensively Inventoried for
Wilderness Characteristics, Oregon and Washington (green document)
( ) October 1979 – Wilderness Review – Intensive Inventory - Oregon,
Proposed Decision on the Intensive Wilderness Inventory of Selected
Areas (grey document).
( ) March 1980 – Wilderness Review – Intensive Inventory; Final Decisions
on 30 Selected Units in Southeast Oregon and Proposed Decisions on
Other Intensively Inventoried Units in Oregon and Washington (orange
document)
( ) November 1980 - Wilderness Inventory – Oregon and Washington, Final
Intensive Inventory Decisions (brown document)
( ) November 1981 Stateline Intensive Wilderness Inventory Final Decision,
Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Utah (tan document).
B.) Inventory Unit Name(s)/Number(s)
BLM OR-03-01-15 Beirman Springs
C.) Map Name(s)/Number(s)
( ) Final Decision – Initial Wilderness Inventory Map, August 1979, Oregon
( ) Proposed Decision -- Intensive Wilderness Inventory of Selected Areas
Map, October 1979, Oregon
( ) Intensive Wilderness Inventory Map, March 1980, Oregon
( ) Intensive Wilderness Inventory --Final Decisions Map, November 1980,
Oregon
( ) November, 1981 Stateline Intensive Wilderness Inventory Final Decision,
Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Utah (tan document).
Wilderness Inventory Unit
McCarthy Ridge OR-034-102
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Form 1 – Documentation of BLM Wilderness Inventory: Findings on Record
D.) BLM District(s)/Field Office(s)
Vale District Office / Malheur
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Field Office
2. BLM Inventory Findings on Record
(Existing inventory information regarding wilderness characteristics (if more than one
BLM inventory unit is associated with the area, list each unit and answer each question
individually for each inventory unit):
Inventory Source: See above.
Unit#/
Name
Size
(historic
acres)
OR-03-0115 Beirman
Springs
TOTAL
4,310
Natural
Condition?
Y/N
*
Outstanding Outstanding Supplemental
Solitude?
Primitive & Values?
Y/N
Unconfined Y/N
Recreation?
Y/N
*
*
*
4,310
* -- These criteria were not specifically addressed during the inventory of this unit since the unit
did not meet minimum size criteria.
Wilderness Inventory Unit
McCarthy Ridge OR-034-102
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Form 2 – Documentation of Current Wilderness Inventory Conditions
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H-6300-1-WILDERNESS INVENTORY MAINTENANCE
IN BLM OREGON/WASHINGTON
APPENDIX B – INVENTORY AREA EVALUATION
Evaluation of Current Conditions:
1) Document and review the existing BLM wilderness inventory findings on file, if
available, regarding the presence or absence of individual wilderness characteristics, using
Form 1, below.
2) Consider relevant information regarding current conditions available in the office to
identify and describe any changes to the existing information (use interdisciplinary (ID) team
knowledge, aerial photographs, field observations, maps, etc.), and document your findings
on Form 2, below.
When Citizen Information has been submitted regarding wilderness characteristics, document
the submitted materials including: date of Submission; Name of District(s) and Field
Office(s) Affected; Type of material Submitted (e.g. narrative, map, photo). Evaluate any
submitted citizen information regarding the validity of proposed boundaries of the unit(s), the
existence of roads and other boundary features, the size of the unit(s), and the presence or
absence of wilderness characteristics based on relevant information available in the office
(prior BLM inventories, ID team knowledge, aerial photographs, field observations, maps,
etc.)
Conduct field reviews as necessary to verify information and to ascertain current conditions.
Reach conclusions on current conditions including boundaries, size of areas and presence or
absence of wilderness characteristics. Fully explain the basis for each conclusion on form 2,
including any critical differences between BLM and citizen information.
Document your findings regarding current conditions for each inventoried area. Describe
how the present conditions are similar to, or have changed from, the conditions documented
in the original wilderness inventory. Document your findings on Form 2 for each inventory
area. Cite to or attach data considered, including photographs, maps, GIS layers, field trip
notes, project files, etc.
Wilderness Inventory Unit
McCarthy Ridge OR-034-102
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Form 2 – Documentation of Current Wilderness Inventory Conditions
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FORM 2 -- DOCUMENTATION OF CURRENT WILDERNESS
INVENTORY CONDITIONS
Unit Number/Name: OR-0347-102 — McCarthy Ridge_______________
Description of Current Conditions: [Include land ownership, location, topography, vegetation
features and summary of major human uses/activities.]
1. Is the unit of sufficient size?
Yes___X____ No_______
Description: Refer to this inventory unit’s associated Map 1 for its location. The unit
has 6,175 acres of public land. The unit represents a larger area than the BLM 1978
inventory unit because the north-south oriented route through sections 21, 22, 27 and 34
has changed status to a motorized primitive trail (MPT) due to no known mechanical
maintenance performed and BLM not intending to provide such maintenance on the route
in the future.
The unit’s boundaries are county road 730 and private land on its north side, a small
segment of county road 750 and private lands on its east side, private lands and county
road 750 on its south side, and county roads 531 and 539 on its west side. The boundary
roads are mechanically maintained as needed to provide for relatively regular and
continuous use.
2. Is the unit in a natural condition?
Yes___X____ No_______ N/A_______
Description: The north-south oriented McCarthy Ridge traverses the width of the unit
through the unit’s middle. Elevations range from 2,500 to 5,074 feet. Gradients of
incised terrain cut by multi-directional drainages are predominately steeper in the unit’s
approximate southern two thirds; gradients are more moderate to slight elsewhere.
Vegetation is predominately native and non-native grasses and sagebrush.
Refer to this unit’s associated Map 1 and Map 2 for human imprints. There are 8.3 miles
of 6 motorized primitive trails (MPTs, 2 of which traverse the unit’s north-south oriented
width), 7.5 miles of rangeland fences, and 2 earthen reservoirs. There remains virtually
no visual contrast of two segments of abandoned routes. In the unit’s east half, there
remains no visually contrasting evidence of 1966, 1970 and 1980 disc-drilled seedings of
both native and non-native grasses. The linear furrows of 2006 disc drilled seedings of
native grasses in 4 small separate areas within the unit (totaling approximately 250 acres)
are visually evident. Even when accounting for the visual contrasts of the 2006 seedings,
their overall limited extent and locations (abutting boundary roads) combined with the
types of the other developments results in the unit appearing to be affected primarily by
Wilderness Inventory Unit
McCarthy Ridge OR-034-102
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Form 2 – Documentation of Current Wilderness Inventory Conditions
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the forces of nature with the imprint of humans substantially unnoticeable to the average
visitor.
3. Does the unit have outstanding opportunities for solitude?
Yes_______ No___X____ N/A_______
Description: The unit has insufficient vegetative cover for screening between visitors to
provide for outstanding opportunities for solitude. The unit is basically rectangular in
shape, its greatest north- south width being about 2.2 miles although pinching to 0.75 –
1.2 miles on its east and west ends; its length through its middle is approximately 5 miles.
While the unit’s southern more rugged terrain possesses topographic variances which
provide settings where a visitor can sense being isolated, the opportunities are not
outstanding due to the unit’s narrow width combined with the more moderate to slight
gradients associated with the unit’s northern approximate third. These cumulative
circumstances result in the unit not providing outstanding opportunities for solitude.
It is also recognized that visual and/or audible impacts by motorized travel on the unit’s 2
MPTs that dissect the unit’s width through the unit’s central core – and being separated
by only 0.5 to 1.2 miles – does not benefit an experience of feeling isolated.
4. Does the unit have outstanding opportunities for primitive and unconfined recreation?
Yes _______ No ___X____ N/A _______
Description: The primary recreation is hunting of common game species (primarily
deer, elk and chukar) and associated hiking. The unit possesses no special or unique
features which would draw visitors to it. Individually or in combinations, the activities do
not provide outstanding opportunities for primitive and unconfined recreation.
5. Does the unit have supplemental values?
Yes ___X___ No _______
N/A _______
Description: A small site of Pyrrocoma radiata, ray goldenweed -- a BLM special
status plant species -- is documented.
Wilderness Inventory Unit
McCarthy Ridge OR-034-102
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Form 2 – Summary of Findings and Conclusion
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Summary of Findings and Conclusion
Unit Name and Number: OR-034-102 — McCarthy Ridge____________
Summary Results of Analysis:
1. Does the area meet any of the size requirements? __X___Yes ______No
2. Does the area appear to be natural?
__X____Yes ______No
3. Does the area offer outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive
and unconfined type of recreation?
______Yes __X____No ______NA
4. Does the area have supplemental values? ___X___Yes ______No ______NA
Conclusion -- check one:
______ The area, or a portion of the area, has wilderness character.
___X___The area does not have wilderness character.
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McCarthy Ridge OR-034-102
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